1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hay moisture testers or meter assemblies generally and more particularly to portable hay moisture testers or meters providing a wide range of detectable hay moisture levels with compensation for different hay conditions and varieties
2. Description of the Prior Art
If hay is too wet it can mold and lose nutritional value. If it is determined that the hay is too wet to bale, the farmer may elect to harvest the hay at a later time allowing the hay to dry further. Or he may elect to harvest the hay in the form of sileage as opposed to bales or spray preservatives to the hay to prevent mold. If the hay is too dry, the leaves tend to dry and crumble when baled thus making the farmer suffer from a lower yield. Thus portable hay moisture testing is used by the farmer to check on the condition of the hay allowing him to make an informed decision as to the proper treatment of the hay.
Known portable hay moisture testers utilize the electrical conductivity of the hay to determine the moisture within the hay. Such devices determine the moisture content of the hay by measuring the electrical conductivity of the hay, which varies in direct proportion to the moisture level of the hay.
One problem with such known hay moisture testers implementing the electrical conductivity principle is their limited response with wet hay above 40% moisture. Such wet hay tends to short-circuit the measuring device. Therefore hay will not increase the level of conductivity having additional moisture content above this 40% level making such measurements impossible.
The mentioned prior art devices in some cases also provided a limited digital display of the moisture content of the tested hay bales. These displays were limited to the moisture reading and did not provide any further information as to the conditions under which the measurement was made. Information such as a full text complementary digital readout of the hay bale type (round or square), the hay cutting (first, second, third, etc), or the density of the hay bale was not provided.
These known instruments also failed to compensate for the type of hay bale being tested which factors will influence the accuracy of the moisture tester measurement. Round bales of hay are generally wrapped much tighter and compacted differently from square bales and will yield a much higher reading on the moisture tester than the equivalent square bale of the same moisture level. None of the known moisture testers allow for the tester to be biased by the user to compensate for the measurement being taken on either a round or square bale of hay.
The cutting of the hay can also influence the accuracy of the moisture tester measurement. For example, the leaf to stem ratio of the particular hay crop can vary as a function of the seasonal cutting which ratio results in different moisture readings for the hay measured. The second cutting typically yields better alfalfa quality then the first, the third cutting typically yields better quality then the second, and so on. None of the know moisture testers provide for the tester to be biased by the user to compensate for the seasonal cutting of the measured hay.
The density of the measured hay bale will also influence the accuracy of a moisture tester. If a given bale is of a loose density, the moisture reading of the tester will indicate a lower moisture than it otherwise would if the bale were of a more normal density. Likewise, if a given bale is of a tighter density, the moisture reading of the tester will indicate a higher moisture than it otherwise would if the bale were of a more normal density. None of the known moisture testers provide for the tester to be biased by the user to compensate for the density variations of the hay measured.
The type of hay will also significantly influence the accuracy of the moisture tester measurement. Alfalfa hay, for example, will give a different measurement than timothy hay when both the alfalfa and the timothy are at the same moisture level. None of the known moisture testers provide for the tester to be biased by the user to compensate for the type of hay being tested.
Thus what the hay harvesting industry needed a portable hay moisture tester having a wide range of moisture measurements and providing compensation for differing hay types and bale conditions.